“The Greatest of All”
— Tim
Very Funny. 10/26/1941. Six weeks or so later Benny could have never aired this Navy farce.
Benny turns down the role of Dr. Flynn, and flies the skies of the Pacific searching for the cure of aviation “Errolembolisms”.
— Tim
Twice it was to be, Errol in Caesar’s Wife. Once with
Talulah Bankhead, in 1936. Once with Geraldine Fitzgerald, ca. 1943. Talulah was replaced by Kay Francis, leaving just Another Dawn. Then, in “43, Errol was said to have been replaced by Cary Grant, but Caesar’s Wife” was never made.
— Tim
With shang “time will tell” heinz so recently and marvelously tracing Errol’s William Tell Mercedes to Yankee Slugger Reggie Jackson, perhaps our own team of heavy hitting All Stars can determine the history of the Master of Mulholland/Ballantrae’s spectacular Fraser Nash Targa Florio Gran Sport. Anyone know where it is and how it got there??
— Tim
The Story of “Errol” by the Aussie Crawl:
Three video interpretations of “Errol”
— Tim
The “Robin Hood Hat”, aka a “Bycocket” or “Chapeau a Bec”
It evolved from a type of Medieval hat often worn by sporting men, hunters and hawkers included. The first artistic depictions of it appear to have been in the early 1300s. It appears to be most associated with dashing, athletic and adventurous young men, perfectly so for Errol.
Here is a superb site detailing its history in the Middle Ages, with an outstanding visual record.
Mirror Back in Ivory, ca. 1300-1330, Presently at the Louvre
The Smithfield Decretals of Gregory IX, ca. 1300-1340
www.bl.uk/manuscripts/Viewer.aspx?ref=royal_ms_10_e_iv_f078v…
Woman Protecting a Unicorn, ca. 1425-50
The Provost of Aquileia, ca. 14th or 15th Century
The Cardsharps by Caraveggio, 1596
Fairbanks: 1922
The Huntsman, from Snow White, 1937
Flynn: 1938
And here is a previous EFB post and thread discussing the hat’s connection to “Liberty”:
www.theerrolflynnblog.com…
— Tim
Errol’s 1941 Peach Packard Convertible “Clipper Darrin”!
Like Flynn Himself, One-of-a-Kind. Personally designed and custom-made for him by the preminent Dutch Darrin, “Darrin of Paris” (located in LA). No identical prior or subsequent car was ever made.
It was purchased in or about 1948 by Tom Sumner, with it’s oringinal peach exterior and medium green interior. To his deep regret, however, Sumner sold it in 1951. Years later, he tried to find and repurchase it, but without success.
It apparently declined in quality, due to inadequate care and maintenance, was de-peached with (a poorly regarded) dark green metallic paint. Ultimatelty was either demolished, shipped to England, taken to Mexico, or otherwise vanished. It’s uncertain if it still exists, but it looked nearly exactly as the peach one in the photos below, which was built by Sumner (in the 90’s, I believe.)
Here’s a photo of it after it was repainted:
And here’s Tom Sumner briefly speaking about his history with the car:
And a very informative discussion among Packard enthusiasts:
Previous discussions on the EFB:
— Tim
According to Legend:
A Rarely Recognized Genius
Army Air Corps Officer in WW II
Used to Party up at Mulholland Farm
Errol Taught Him How to be a “Ladies Man”
Closely Associated with Planes, Trains and Automobiles
A Mann of Many Varied Talents, from Engineering to Entertainment
Many Notable Friends, from Howard Hughes to Groucho Marx to Satchel Paige
Errol Once Threw Golf Balls from the Roof of a Downtown LA Courthouse to “Help His Auto Body Repair Business”
Having Designed It, This was His “Baby”:
And He Worked on This One, Howard’s Baby, Too:
— Tim